My journey with Bipolar, together with snippets of music & other random stuff.

It’s been a while since I’ve been on WP, I think I lost my writing mojo. I don’t know if this will be a one of post or the start of me getting more active on here again. Watch this space…or don’t, as I might not be on here again for some time 🙂

I’m doing ok right now…sooooo you know….that’s nice.

Anywhoozles the reason for this post. I got an email recently (pasted below) from the Spectrum Centre at Lancaster University regarding Bipolar Research. I’m taking part in it & thought it’d be a good idea to put the contact details on here in case any of you would like to take part.

Just email Barbara & let her know you would like to take part. I got a response the day after, so good luck.

I don’t know if this is for UK based people only, but if you’re an overseas Bipolarian (hmmm have I just invented a new word) contact Barbara anyway, as it might be an all inclusive kinda deal.

Hope you’re all doing well…if not keep up the fight.

ps

I’m not used to this new WP layout & I can’t even see where my notification & comments section is! For anyone who has commented, I’m not ignoring you, just ummmm trying to figure out where everything is 🙂

Spectrum Centre Email

Dear Spectrum Connect Member,

I am Barbara Mezes, a PhD student at the Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research and I would like to invite people with bipolar disorder to take part in a research exploring personal recovery experiences. We are aiming to better understand the personal recovery experiences of people with bipolar disorder– not only clinical aspects, but also other improvements such as being able to enjoy social activities, get back into employment and having more control over your life. The study is exploring the different thinking styles, behaviours, activities and environmental factors, which can influence your recovery experiences, both long-term and in everyday life.

There are three phases of this study. Some phases of the study involve taking part in interviews and completing questionnaires, whilst others involve keeping a diary. It is up to you which phase(s) you would like to take part in, but we can discuss these in more detail before you decide to participate.

If you have diagnosis of bipolar disorder and would like to take part or find out more about the study, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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I travelled up to the North East of England recently to see my wife’s parents. My wife (Laura) had travelled up a few days earlier, so I made the journey up in our car on my own. It reminded me when we were first dating & she was studying in Sunderland, whereas I was working in Liverpool. I’ve got fond memories of our long distance relationship. More so, considering most people seem to believe they don’t work.

I realised back then I hadn’t yet been diagnosed with any mental illness. So although I had suffered from, at least depression, I was blissfully unaware that was what it was. I never knew what I wanted to do, work-wise, back then, but I was confident I could turn my hand to most things. So I suppose my outlook was ‘the world is my oyster’ kind of thing. After just six months since I left Uni I had paid off my credit card debt on only £150 a week wage. I was confident I’d soon be in a job where I’d be earning at least the national average. At which point I would then start making repayments on my student loans. Meh, I never got there (there being the national average wage) in the end, but hey-ho that’s life.

It got me thinking of those ‘sliding doors’ moments in all our lives, where you think what if… My what if, is how would my life be different if I didn’t have a mental illness.

I know a lot of people say ‘I don’t believe in regrets. Everything in life has made me who I am today’. Which is fine, but come on, most of us have done something we regret & if we could change it we would. Personally I think it’s fine to have regrets, but the important thing is not to dwell & stew over them. It’s the past, you can’t change it so what’s the point.

There is a very interesting project going on over at Harsh Reality. A series of interviews have been done, to provide an insight into how opinions are formed in different countries & cultures. There is more to it than just that, but to find out more you’ll need to go on over. My interview is up on there now. Check it out & all the other interviews on there so far.

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I had to reblog this…for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s a great blog so get over there & start following. Secondly, my last post was about doing a post on Wednesday, so here it is. (Yeah yeah, a reblog is cheating, but it’s my blog so hush). Thirdly this reblog is all about meeeeeeee 🙂

Graham Shiels is the author of The Bipolar Place, and a partner in the stigma-fighting campaign, Faces of Mental Illness. He is a husband, a mail carrier, lives in Livepool, England, and he is a Voice of Mental Illness.

BSS: How long have you known that you are living with a mental illness?

GS: For me it’s not a simple, x amount of years, answer. I was first diagnosed with a mental illness when I was 22. That would be 13 years ago. However, I think I have had a mental illness as early as the age of 12 or 13. I remember crying myself to sleep nearly every night for what seemed like a year, but I didn’t know what I was crying about. I wasn’t aware back then I had a mental illness, but I also had the feeling that not everyone felt this way.

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This is an excerpt from my guest post on Where I Stand. Please pop over & check it out along with all the other great stuff on there.

“It doesn’t make sense to me that an illness of the brain has so much negative stigma around to it. Whereas an illness to the body is well, for lack of a better word, ‘normal’ and accepted. For me, it can only be explained through fear of the unknown.”